Monthly Archives: February 2014

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The fees from both flights and hotels tend to add up, over time. It would be shocking to see just how much money frequent travelers and vacationers spend each year on various fees when they travel. When you are planning your Costa Rica vacation, consider the fees involved. You can also try to avoid many of the fees or have them reduced with the following tips:

Avoid last minute changes in plans. Did you know that most airlines and hotels charge a fee if you have to change your travel dates? Avoid these fees entirely by not changing travel plans. Or, you could pay more for refundable tickets, at least for the airline. For the hotel stay, look for rooms that allow you to cancel with 24 to 48 hours’ notice.

Look for hidden fees within your hotel booking. On many of the travel booking websites, extra fees are not always clear. In many cases, you can find some fees in small print if you read over all of the information on each hotel’s page.

Before booking your vacation, call and ask about any extra fees before getting on the plane. Make sure that your baggage is below the weight limit, and also be aware of the carry-on rules.

Be aware that many hotels charge extra fees for some of their amenities. This may mean an extra charge for asking for extra towels or bedding. You may also get charged for consuming any food or drink that might seemingly come with the room. This is why it is prudent to always read the fine print.

Frequent travelers often apply for credit cards that offer travel rewards so that each airfare and hotel stay will reap rewards. This is useful for receiving savings on future trips. However, not all travel reward credit cards are made equal. There are certain things you should look for in a card when planning your Costa Rica vacation, or a vacation to any other destination.

Compare the rewards with what the fees associated with the card cost. If you are going to end up paying more in fees than what the reward is worth, move on. Not all rewards cards charge an arm and a leg in fees.

Most reward credit cards offer free airline miles or hotel stays. Choose a card based on the reward you are likely to use more often. If you fly a lot, consider the card that offers airline miles.

Consider your travel patterns in the mix. Sometimes a certain card would not seem worth it, with the high spending requirements, but if you are already spending a lot on travel, it might be worth a second look.

Look at a reward card that offers variety. Some credit card companies will offer points that can be redeemed for airline miles, hotel stays, train tickets and cruises. In many cases, these rewards will be offered across brands.

When planning your vacation, consider putting your travel and stay on a rewards card. That way you can collect points for future stays. Plus, having extra cash on hand is smart, in case of sudden travel delays or other expenses along the way.

When you are considering travel to Costa Rica, you will need to plan out your vacation. This means securing airfare, a place to stay, and also deciding on attractions that you don’t want to miss. Many factors go into planning your travel, including your budget and the season you plan to visit Costa Rica. Those two things will determine your stay and what you do, to a point. However, many other things go into planning a great vacation, like these 5 tips:

Costa Rica is a top destination for eco-tourism. It is a great country to visit to bird watch and for hiking. About 23% of the country is part of the national park system, making it easy for you to find something nature-related to do.

It is easy to get in to Costa Rica, there is no need for a visa, all you need is a valid passport with more than 3 months expiration on it. You are also allowed to stay for up to 90 days in the country. If traveling from Colombia or any country in South America, prior to getting on the plane, you must have a yellow fever certificate. If traveling anywhere from the North or Central America you will not need this.

The best way to get around Costa Rica is by taxi. Renting a car is very risky. The cost is expensive, close to $700 a week, plus a large deposit. According to travel websites, it is common for unscrupulous rental companies to claim damage to the rental car when there was none.

Spanish is the official language of the country. Learning some common phrases will be helpful, but, if you stick to tourist areas, it is not required.

Two great outdoor things to do are visiting the beaches and going rafting. Since the country is part of an isthmus, there are hundreds of miles of beaches on both sides, in the Caribbean and along the Pacific coast. There are also more rivers per square kilometer than anywhere else in the world, which means rafting is a very popular hobby here.

Travel to Costa Rica has never been easier with the ability to book all of the travel online. From the airline to the hotel, you can make any and all reservations online. This makes travel very easy, but not all travel sites are equal. Many travel websites offer discounts of various amounts. These vary from website to website, which makes it difficult to choose what offer is best. Check out the best travel websites below to get the best deal on your travel.

Airfarewatchdog.com. This website offers the best last minute airfare deals. These deals are available nowhere else, since they come straight from the carrier websites. All of the promos and listings are verified by live people to make sure the deal is legitimate. They even offer Southwest Airlines deals, which normally are not brought up in normal search results. All deals are brought to you by email or in tweets.

Jetsetter.com. This website offers a list of flash sales on popular travel destinations. All deals are hand selected by the Jetsetter team. Prices are usually at least 40-50% off, and there are about 20 to 40 sales a week. They offer even bigger specials on Mystery Mondays, where you can book for even less, but won’t learn the name of the hotel until later.

Hotels.com. They let you search through more than 220,000 properties for bargains. Last-minute deals are updated daily. Many search options are offered so you can search by location, rating, stars, or accommodations.

Priceline.com. This website lets you name your price and haggle prices for hotels. You can choose your hotel by minimum stars, your travel dates, and preferred neighborhoods. Savings of 60% of published rates is common. However, the name of the hotel is not known until after you pay.

Dealbase.com. This website offers a collection of deals by hotels that offer more than just a room. You can search through packages and see whether or not they are really a good value. When you are ready to purchase, DealBase will redirect you to the hotel website.

The Ylang Ylang Beach Resort in Montezuma, Costa Rica had a wonderful 2013 New Year’s Eve celebration. They offer their big thanks to the more than 160 guests who showed up to party at the ultimate Costa Rica vacation destination. The party was hot, and the entertainment like no other.

Guests were offered a large buffet dinner and entertainment. The chefs created local Costa Rican staples with the freshest ingredients. Exotic cocktails were served with dinner at a secluded spot overlooking the ocean and the clear skies above.

Skala, a popular local band, played spicy Latin music all night long. They played all of their best hits as everyone danced to the beat. The tropical party was fun and spirits were high as 2013 came to a close and 2014 was welcomed.

A group of fire dancers came to the party and entertained everyone with their skill and risky moves. The spinning torches and heavy drum beats had guests out of their seats moving to the music. Everyone was having a grand time. To top it off, a huge fireworks display added to the celebration.

This was the largest event thus far at Ylang Ylang Beach Resort. People from all over were in attendance to make this New Year’s Eve party a success. Come on out to the party next year; you won’t be disappointed. You can call the resort for travel arrangements and reservations. The resort sits on 20 acres of white sandy beaches in the Nicoya Peninsula of Montezuma, the perfect atmosphere for any celebration or vacation.

We’re pleased to offer a discount on your Costa Rica vacation! These promotions are not offered year round and are available for a limited amount of time. Hurry to book your vacation before this good deal is gone.

Right now, if you book a 4-night stay in a tent cabin at Ylang Ylang Beach Resort, you’ll receive a discount on the 5th night. Receive a 50% discount on your 5th night! This discount only applies to reservations made with our resort between January 15, 2014 and February 28, 2014. Your stay must be between the dates of March 6, 2014 and March 31, 2014. All bookings are subject to availability, so you would be wise to reserve your cabin now.

You can call or book your rooms online. When booking, please mention the coupon code: TCMAR50%. This coupon expires on Monday, March 31, 2014. Hurry now to claim your offer for 50% off your 5th night stay in the tent cabins at Ylang Ylang Beach Resort!

The dry season is the vacation season for Costa Rica. The weather is great for visiting the beaches or going sight-seeing in the rain forest. Vacation packages in Costa Rica do not commonly have discounts like this during the tourist season, which lasts from December through April.

Deals during the dry season are few and far between. Take advantage of this offer before it is sold out. The sooner you call for a reservation, the better your chances are of finding open cabins to receive your offer. Remember that all offers are subject to room availability.

Discounts on airfare to Costa Rica are not always available. You are not likely to find very many discounts during their dry season, December to April, as this is the peak season. During the wet season, May to November, you have the best chance at cheaper airfare. No matter when you choose to travel, you should do a bit of shopping around.

Do most of your rate checking on the big travel websites, like TripAdvisor or Travelocity. Check several of these websites, because each one offers different rates. However, do not buy any tickets yet. Now that you know the prices, check the airline websites. Many airlines guarantee to have the lowest price on their website. While there, you can also check for sales and promotions.

The decision on whether to buy now or wait is a tough one. There are tools to help with this, such as Kayak’s fare history graphs. This will show you whether or not your airline is offering tickets with the prices going lower or higher. In addition to this, wait until Tuesday to purchase tickets. Tuesdays are when airlines release their sales and promotions.

The last thing you can do to make your travel cheaper is to cash in your frequent flier miles. This option may or may not be available. This depends on how many seats are left on the plane. Also, don’t forget to use your credit card to gain more miles when you purchase tickets.

When you are considering a vacation to Costa Rica, sometimes choosing a vacation package is the best option. There are many ways to save, but you will need to be diligent when you research the travel options available. Vacation packages to Costa Rica can be had on a budget; just follow the tips below to learn how to save money on your vacation.

Be flexible about the details for your vacation. Do not have the dates set in stone until after you book your travel and accommodations. Sometimes you may miss a good deal if you only have a hard, set date to go.

Travel during the off-peak season. The off peak season runs from May to November in Costa Rica. This is when travel prices are at their lowest. However, be aware that there is an influx of vacationers during June and July.

Take advantage of social networking. Sometimes airlines and hotels will post travel deals on their Twitter and Facebook feeds. Also, you can subscribe to email alerts from several different travel deal services.

Choose a family-friendly hotel when travelling with kids. In many cases, these hotels offer more amenities or larger rooms. Also, consider any of the fee-free perks that are offered at each hotel you consider. While at the hotel, always ask the concierge about deals available at local restaurants to save even more.

Look for package deals that offer all-inclusive hotel stays. This means that all of your meals and entertainment are included with your hotel stay. You will pay more initially, but save more once you are not pulling your wallet out at every meal.

When you consider traveling, it is best to know what type of climate to expect. When you travel to Costa Rica, this is especially true. The small island country is located right north of the equator. This means that the climate is a tropical one. However, the country does contain several microclimates that vary in temperature.

Costa Rica has two climates, dry and wet. The dry season (December-April) has the least amount of rainfall and is considered to be the “winter.” The wet season (May-November) is the “summer.” The dry season offers the best weather and the least amount of rain. During the wet season, there is a lot of rain that causes flooding in some of the outlying areas.

Travel to Costa Rica is more desirable during the dry season. This means that you must book rooms and travel accommodations well in advance. All travel accommodations will often need a deposit at the time of booking. Expect the beaches to be packed and prices to be high during this time. There are also few travel deals and discounts.

The wet season is the best time of year to travel on a smaller budget. Rooms will be plentiful, with discounts offered just to fill them. Prices all over the country are also lower during this time, since it is not the peak of travel season. However, there is a mini peak of travel during June and July. There will be fewer crowds, too. If traveling at this time, remember that road conditions and weather reports have to be checked daily to avoid the rain and inland flooding.

Travel to Costa Rica does not have to cost an arm and a leg. Though vacations can be pricey, there are ways for you to save. Saving on travel is easy. Follow the advice below to find out how to find the best travel deals.

Use one of the travel websites. Kayak is a good travel website to find air, hotel, and rental deals. When using a service, do your homework. Compare prices for the hotel and plane tickets.

Always call the hotel and airline to check for deals and the best prices. The travel websites often charge 20% to 30% on top of what the hotel will charge. However, neither the travel website nor the hotel will tell you that. The Ylang Ylang often offers special package deals for our guests!

If you already have booked your stay, look at last minute prices before your time period for cancellation is up. At this point, call around to see if there are any last minute deals, or if a hotel will beat your pricing.

Make use of Backbid. They forward your reservation information to area hotels to see if your price can be beat. The results are promising, with an average of a 20% savings on a room.

Look for low-cost airlines. Often, new plane routes cost less per ticket, sometimes by as much as 50%. However, try to book your tickets at least three months in advance.

These tips will help you to save money when traveling to Costa Rica. This way, you can have a wonderful family vacation on a smaller budget than you would expect.